A sustainable tourism development in Alacati, Turkey : (Re)invention of public space with clean energy

Although there is an increasing recognition of the impacts of climate change on communities, residents often resist changing their lifestyle to reduce the effects of the problem. By using a landscape architectural design medium, this paper argues that public space, when designed as an ecological system, has the capacity to create social and environmental change and to increase the quality of the human environment. At the same time, this ecological system can engage residents, enrich the local economy, and increase the social network. Through methods of design, research and case study analysis, an alternative master plan is proposed for a sustainable tourism development in Alacati, Turkey. Our master plan uses local geographical, economic and social information within a sustainable landscape architectural design scheme that addresses the key issues of ecology, employment, public space and community cohesion. A preliminary community empowerment model (CEM) is proposed to manage the designs. The designs address: the coexistence of local agricultural and sustainable energy generation; state of the art water management; and the functional and sustainable social and economic interrelationship of inhabitants, NGOs, and local government

Ecological infrastructure vs. techno-fix: A design framework for renewable energy infrastructure in public spaces

Renewable energy is commonly considered a technological addition to urban environments. By contrast, this PhD used a holistic approach to develop a design framework for integrating local electricity production into the ecological function and cultural use of public space. The framework addresses social engagement related to public interaction, and economic engagement related to the estimated quantity of electricity produced, in conjunction with environmental engagement related to the embodied energy required to construct the renewable energy infrastructure. The outcomes will contribute to social and environmental change by engaging society, enriching the local economy and increasing social networks

Optimal Electricity Distribution Framework for Public Space: Assessing Renewable Energy Proposals for Freshkills Park, New York City

Integrating renewable energy into public space is becoming more common as a climate change solution. However, this approach is often guided by the environmental pillar of sustainability, with less focus on the economic and social pillars. The purpose of this paper is to examine this issue in the speculative renewable energy propositions for Freshkills Park in New York City submitted for the 2012 Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI) competition. This paper first proposes an optimal electricity distribution (OED) framework in and around public spaces based on relevant ecology and energy theory (Odum’s fourth and fifth law of thermodynamics). This framework addresses social engagement related to public interaction, and economic engagement related to the estimated quantity of electricity produced, in conjunction with environmental engagement related to the embodied energy required to construct the renewable energy infrastructure. Next, the study uses the OED framework to analyse the top twenty-five projects submitted for the LAGI 2012 competition. The findings reveal an electricity distribution imbalance and suggest a lack of in-depth understanding about sustainable electricity distribution within public space design. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research

Towards a sustainability assessment model for urban public space renewable energy infrastructure

As cities develop new interventions for climate change mitigation, incorporating renewable energy in urban public spaces becomes a common norm to address sustainability objectives. However, current built projects and assessment practices mainly uses a “techno-fixes” approach focusing on strategies that are related to the environmental benefits and neglecting other potential strategies instigating social and economic benefits of renewable energy. The purpose of this study is to present a potential sustainability assessment model introducing new strategies for public space renewable energy use where social and economic benefits of renewables become evident. Supplemented with theories and principles from ecology, the model’s economic strategies refer whether the project considers meaningful part of the produced electricity for generating a local economy; environmental strategy comprises embodied energy, energy storage and self-maintenance; social strategy includes whether the project considers generating active and passive interaction using on-site electricity. Ballast Point Park in Sydney was used as a test bed to examine the model and sustainability of park’s renewable energy use. The findings showed that environmental strategies were evident in the park, social strategies remained average and economic strategies with renewable energy were lacking. Interactions with on-site produced electricity was further claimed to be an imperative feature of any public space. Recommendations were made specific to operational and planning impacts of the integrated model

Optimal electricity distribution framework for public space: Assessing renewable energy proposals for Freshkills Park, New York City

Integrating renewable energy into public space is becoming more common as a climate change solution. However, this approach is often guided by the environmental pillar of sustainability, with less focus on the economic and social pillars. The purpose of this paper is to examine this issue in the speculative renewable energy propositions for Freshkills Park in New York City submitted for the 2012 Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI) competition. This paper first proposes an optimal electricity distribution (OED) framework in and around public spaces based on relevant ecology and energy theory (Odum’s fourth and fifth law of thermodynamics). This framework addresses social engagement related to public interaction, and economic engagement related to the estimated quantity of electricity produced, in conjunction with environmental engagement related to the embodied energy required to construct the renewable energy infrastructure. Next, the study uses the OED framework to analyse the top twenty-five projects submitted for the LAGI 2012 competition. The findings reveal an electricity distribution imbalance and suggest a lack of in-depth understanding about sustainable electricity distribution within public space design. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research

Clean energy with Mr Kaan Ozgun [Radio interview : Turkish]

Interview with Mr Kaan Ozgun, PhD Candidate at Queensland University of Technology, about clean energy in Australia

Terra Preta : bioenergy, soil restoration, urban agriculture, art algorithm

The 2010 LAGI competition was held on three underutilized sites in the United Arab Emirates. By choosing Staten Island, New York in 2012 the competition organises have again brought into question new roles for public open space in the contemporary city. In the case of the UEA sites, the competition produced many entries which aimed to create a sculpture and by doing so, they attracted people to the selected empty spaces in an arid climate. In a way these proposals were the incubators and the new characters of these empty spaces. The competition was thus successful at advancing understandings of the expanded role of public open spaces in EAU and elsewhere. LAGI 2012 differs significantly to the UAE program because Fresh Kills Park has already been planned as a public open space for New Yorkers - with or without these clean energy sculptures. Furthermore, Fresh Kills Park is already an (gas) energy generating site in its own right. We believe Fresh Kills Park, as a site, presents a problem which somewhat transcends the aims of the competition brief. Advancing a sustainable urban design proposition for the site therefore requires a fundamental reconsideration of the established paradigms public open space. Hence our strategy is to not only create an energy generating, site specific art work, but to create synergy between the public and the site engagement while at the same time complement the idiosyncrasies of the pre-existing engineered landscape. Current PhD research about energy generation in public open spaces informs this work

Renewable energy distribution in public spaces: analyzing the case of Ballast Point Park in Sydney, using a triple bottom line approach

As cities are rapidly developing new interventions against climate change, embedding renewable energy in public spaces is an important strategy. However, most interventions primarily include environmental sustainability while neglecting the social and economic interrelationships of electricity production. Although there is a growing interest in sustainability within environmental design and landscape architecture, public spaces are still awaiting viable energy-conscious design and assessment interventions. The purpose of this paper is to investigate this issue in a renowned public space—Ballast Point Park in Sydney—using a triple bottom line (TBL) case study approach. The emerging factors and relationships of each component of TBL, within the context of public open space, are identified and discussed. With specific focus on renewable energy distribution in and around Ballast Point Park, the paper concludes with a general design framework, which conceptualizes an optimal distribution of onsite electricity produced from renewable sources embedded in public open spaces

Green infrastructure in water management: Stakeholder perceptions from South East Queensland, Australia

Green infrastructure (GI) originated in landscape architecture and landscape ecology and is widely used as an approach to sustainable water management. However, there is no commonly accepted definition of GI for water management in the literature. This research was undertaken in South East Queensland (SEQ), Australia, which has experienced a long-term cycle of floods and droughts. The research employed the Q-sort methodology supplemented with semi-structured interviews to understand perceptions of GI amongst various stakeholders. Twenty-seven research participants included design, planning, and engineering practitioners, government officers, scientists and community members familiar with GI. Our findings indicate these participants regard GI as a broad concept containing both natural and engineered semi-natural assets offering multiple benefits and functions, yet rarely recognised its economic benefits. Participants were divided on GI's effectiveness for drought management. We propose a new, consolidated definition of GI for stormwater management: “GI is a strategically planned network of high-quality natural and semi-natural assets that mimics natural processes, with multiple benefits and multifunctionality, such as enhancing stormwater management and providing environmental quality, with social and economic benefits”. We recommend that water management-related policies, strategies, plans, and design guidelines in SEQ and elsewhere, should include a consistent definition of GI for water management to assist professional and community understanding and inform decision-making about flood and drought.</p